We left Lagos feeling a little more positive towards it than before. The free Wifi access was intermittent but better than Ayamonte where you could pay, which Peter and Joyce did, but they had found that the signal was not brilliant unless they were in the cockpit but got better at night or 4am in the morning. We had gone to the Lotita bar run by an English couple. They had lovely big comfy settees and a big screen for the Six Nations Rugby and free internet if you bought a drink, which sadly was a little more expensive than most Spanish bars.

Lagos had been very lively and the noise from the various bars went on well into the early morning hours which did not bother us as we are night owls and were sometimes in one of the bars but not responsible for the noise. Most noise came from the South bar and Lazyjacks where they had "Live Music" every night in a bar which in warm weather was completely open so the sound travelled easily. One night a week they had an "open mike" session - no comment! We went to the Portuguese Amuras bar which had lovely décor and comfy seats with a band on Friday and Saturday nights but the noise was minimal outside as it could be enclosed. However I would not like to be on a pontoon so close if I over-wintered in the marina as it could get irritating.

We set off westwards again planning to drop in briefly to provision in Ayamonte

Jack and I decided to go on a ride on the "little train" that takes you through the town and up to the cliffs. You can catch the train outside the marina office and then there are 3 other stops. We decided to get out at Ponta da Piedade, the last one. You can stay all day at a stop or move on as the train returns every hour, the ride was very bumpy. As the train didn't stop at stop 2 we got confused and didn't get off at the last stop so as the train began its descent we realised our error. Of course looking at the route plan later on I remembered that no one had been waiting at stop 2 and as it was in the town the driver realised that no one would want such a short trip. We consoled ourselves with a toasty and an ice-cream sundae.

The train comes down this road and gives this view of the Fort and Meia Praia. (beach)

On one of my numerous walks up the hill to see Jack I snapped one of the many stork nests. They are very versatile and have seen them on top of allsorts including electricity pylons, sometimes 2 or 3 nests if they are big ones.

We are enjoying the sun and company here but are a bit disappointed with sailing conditions which seem too reminiscent of our experience sailing through the Med when we took Kaivalya home to the UK - too much or too little wind. Sue warned us not to go out if we can hear the waves breaking on the beach in the marina as it can get very uncomfortable sailing in the bay as waves seem to funnel into the bay and reflect off the cliffs.

Shopping here easy as there is a Ecomarche over the bridge about 500m away and a Pingo Doce in the opposite direction a little further away. Elsewhere in the town there is Lidl and Intermarche. There is a covered market on the front and another smaller Saturday one, next to the Bus station opposite the bridge.

There are lots of twisting and often steep streets in the town filled with bars, restaurants and small shops selling all sorts of things. Steve visited the chandlery in the boatyard - expensive of course but there is another useful DIY/iron mongers up the hill from Lidl. Fortunately there is a book swap here in the Marina Laundrette so we can change some of our books.

Went out for a sail in the bay for a couple of hours but not much fun as the wind dropped after a while so the boom was banging and rather than rig a preventer we motored back into the marina. We have met a few folk on our pontoon and some have been here for a long time, one couple for 17 years. Sue, another long-timer said it is known as the "Velcro Port" as folk come and become comfortable here and never go further. The marina offer a good 6 or 9 month contract then folk either go sailing or some prefer to be lifted for the hottest and most expensive 3 months of the year in the Sopromar boatyard Lagos or in Portmao.

We are here in Lagos for about 3 weeks as my uncle is coming out for a visit and this seems a good place with a train to the airport at Faro and there are nearby places to visit. Also we can easily go for a sail in the bay and try out our new Cruising Chute.